Title: 200th Episode Special
Directed by: Andy Ackerman and James Burrows
Written by: Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner, and Phoef Sutton
Air Date: November 8, 1990
Previous: Breaking in Is Hard to Do
Next: Bad Neighbor Sam
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Roger Rees, John Mc Laughlin, Shelley Long, Jay Thomas
"200th Episode Special" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of Cheers.
It's a Clip Show! For the 200th episode of Cheers, instead of running an ordinary episode, NBC presented a tribute episode. The show was a panel discussion hosted by John McLaughlin, a TV news guy best known for the Sunday morning current events chat show The McLaughlin Group. After a scripted prologue in which McLaughlin orders a beer from Woody, the special cut to the panel discussion. The cast and the creators all talked about the history of the show, how it was developed, and how it was dead last in the ratings during its first season, only for NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff to save it from cancellation.
The special was an hour long, so some sources list it as the eighth and ninth episodes, but it aired in a single one-hour block on November 8, 1990. In addition to the cast and creators, Shelley Long (Diane Chambers) came back for the discussion, three years after she left the show. Her character didn't properly return until the series finale, "One for the Road".
Not quite a Missing Episode, but it's not often shown in syndication and streaming platforms sometimes don't include it.
Tropes:
- As Himself: Everybody, but also John Mc Laughlin as himself in the scripted intro where he orders a beer at the bar.
- The Bus Came Back: Sort of, as Shelley Long joined the panel discussion.
- Clip Show: A one-hour panel discussion with clips of some highlights from the first 8+ seasons of Cheers.
- Creator Cameo: In addition to the cast, series creators Glen Charles, Les Charles, and James Burrows appear, as do frequent writers Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner, and Phoef Sutton.
- Extra-Long Episode: The first extra-long episode, in fact, at one hour.
- Re-Cut: When this episode originally aired there was a scripted bit in which Jay Thomas (Eddie LeBec) popped in and complained loudly about being kicked off the show. This has been cut from later editions of the special.
